Featured Posts
Time to accept that wind farm costs are not falling
There has been a consistent narrative that the cost of building new wind farms is falling, with falling subsidy [...]
Windfall tax harms oil and gas production and must be cut
In May last year, the UK Government introduced a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies [...]
Why Norway’s views on energy security should ring alarm bells across Europe
Norway's energy security would appear to be a done deal, yet the past couple of years have been very [...]
Addressing the high real cost of renewable generation
Over the past few months we have been inundated with claims from interested parties that more renewables are the [...]
Recent Posts
NAO reports on smart meter rollout which it says is at a crucial point
On 14 June, the National Audit Office (“NAO”) published an updated review into the smart meter rollout, finding that while progress has been made since its previous review, the scheme is significantly behind target and the Government is not [...]
Gas price volatility shows the ongoing fragility of the market
The past couple of weeks have seen unusually high levels of gas price volatility across European gas markets. Prices have declined significantly from their highs last August, and the market has coped well with the dramatic reduction in Russian [...]
Contrary to popular belief, there is no statutory requirement for UK coal power stations to close next year
Along with most everyone else in the energy market I have been of the opinion that coal power stations in the UK must close by law by 1 October 2024. I have learned that this is not in fact [...]
Early winter outlook confims our reliance on interconnectors
As the country basks in a heatwave, National Grid ESO has published its early outlook for next winter (this is the third year it has issued an early outlook, and it has come out a month earlier than in [...]
Time to accept that wind farm costs are not falling
There has been a consistent narrative that the cost of building new wind farms is falling, with falling subsidy prices being offered as evidence. I have challenged this narrative in the past, pointing out that evidence from the accounts [...]
As the price cap falls below the EPG, is the energy market set to re-open?
On 25 May, Ofgem announced the new price cap level that will apply from 1 July. The cap level is to fall from £3,280 now to £2,074 for a typical dual fuel household. Of course, consumers currently benefit from [...]
French energy report seeks return of “energy sovereignty”
On 30 March, the French Parliament published a report entitled “D’enquête visant à établir les raisons de la perte de souveraineté et d’indépendance énergétique de la France” or “Inquiry aimed at establishing the reasons for the loss of sovereignty [...]
Huge subsidies thrown at consumers, but energy security remains at risk
My blog is 7 years old today! This past year has seen some interesting and unexpected developments for my business and my blog. The blog has been more widely read than ever, particularly my articles about Norway, one of [...]
Windfall tax harms oil and gas production and must be cut
In May last year, the UK Government introduced a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies operating on the UK Continental Shelf (“UKCS”), in response to press stories about “excess” energy company profits. Regular readers will [...]
Ofgem moves forward on financial resilience and ringfencing
For the past year Ofgem has been trying to address concerns around the financial resilience of energy suppliers after half of them went bankrupt in late 2021 following the rapid increase in wholesale prices. Ofgem has been strongly criticised [...]
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